Lucas Leiva predicts the five-year contract recently signed by Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez will be enough to lure some of the world's top talents to Anfield.

The Uruguayan striker had been linked with moves away from Merseyside, but it was announced in mid-December that Suarez had allayed any fears of an exit, penning a new long-term deal, per the club's official Twitter account:

Lucas speaks fondly of the fine work Brendan Rodgers has undertaken in his 18 months as Liverpool helmsman, with the Reds currently six points away from league leaders Arsenal and still within a shot of Premier League silverware.

Luis signing that contract sent out a good message to everyone. It was a massive boost for both the players and the fans. It showed the ambition of the club and it showed how happy Luis is here. He’s playing even better than last season and is scoring a lot of goals.

I think we have a very good team but you can always improve and that’s what the club is trying to do in this window. In the future players will join, others will leave and hopefully we will be stronger. That’s part of football.

Luis signing will help as everyone would love to have Luis Suarez as a team-mate.

Lucas isn't wrong in his assessment that Suarez sits as one of the most enviable forces in European football right now.

After missing the first five games of the Premier League campaign through suspension, the 26-year-old has returned to the fray with aplomb, netting 20 goals and making 10 assists in just 15 starts, per Transfermarkt.co.uk.

Europe's Leading Goalscorers 2013-14 Statistics

Player

League Appearances

League Goals

League Assists

Avg. Mins per Goal

Luis Suarez

15

20

10

67

Cristiano Ronaldo

17

20

6

75

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

18

14

4

99

Giuseppe Rossi

18

15

8

102

Robert Lewandowski

17

11

6

133

Transfermarkt.co.uk

Those numbers are equal to having a direct hand in a goal twice per outing, an incredible statistic at this stage of the campaign.

The hard work's been recognised, too, after MailOnline Sport revealed Suarez has been announced as December's Premier League Player of the Month:

BREAKING: Luis Suarez wins the Barclays December player of the month award, and Pellegrini wins the manager's award pic.twitter.com/7Kdhv8hyIT

However, no one man is an island, as the old saying goes, and this season has shown that even with a player of that calibre at their disposal, Liverpool must improve as a squad in order to truly confirm their return to England's hierarchy.

The Merseysiders have been impressive, but the difference in quality has been particularly telling when it comes to fixtures against the Premier League's big guns, with Rodgers' side losing to Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea thus far.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

The winter transfer window is bound to have a big say in whether their early pressure is to bear fruit, with injuries and other absences likely to have more of an impact as the season wears on.

Lucas remains confident the quality on hand at Anfield is only set to get better thanks to Suarez's ongoing presence at the club, although the next six months should go some way in proving how accurate that is.